SET Sail STEM Educator Training Summer 2018

Wendy Sancho from Fort Bragg attended the first week of SET Sail STEM Educator Training at USNA this July and commented that the program "[gave] me a new zeal for engagement and getting students involved in their own learning. I intend on using many of the activities throughout the year in teacher training and in classroom model lessons. This was amazing!"

About 90 teachers attended one of two week-long workshops focused on an interactive, project-based methodology using topics in a wide range of areas including chemistry, circuits, electrochemistry and corrosion, applied math, energy transformations, hydraulics, bioterrorism, materials properties, principles of flight and rotorcraft, fluids principles, physics and space, engineering design challenges and more.

Teachers from throughout the U.S. and U.S. territories as well as 10 overseas countries learned and shared best practices for effective STEM education. One session was devoted to teachers from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools in the U.S. and abroad. The other was open to educators at large. The teachers delved into hands-on projects for demonstrating science, engineering, and math concepts and were introduced to current technologies that are easy to implement in the classroom and highlight real-world applications.

"Thank you for an awesome institute. I enjoyed every aspect of the program. I am excited about going back to school in a few weeks and implementing activities and teaching techniques in my classroom. This was the best Science workshop I have attended. I had to step outside my comfort zone. The teachers and assistants were so helpful. This experience will alter the way I teach," claimed Theresa Roh from Mobile, Alabama. Survey results indicated that of those responding (and over 96% attending did respond), 98% said the program was well organized, that it met their expectations, and that they will be able to apply what they learned to their own classrooms.100% claimed they learned something new!